


The Crimes of Thomas Wayne

by AshWinterGray



Series: Earth 132 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Birds of Prey (Comic), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confusion, Detectives, Doubt, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Torture, Photographs, Pictures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26829013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: In the span of two days, the Falcone and Maroni family suddenly vanished from the streets of Gotham. Many saw this as a relief, but the Crime Lords of Gotham saw it as an opportunity. The Red Hood was one such Crime Lord.However, while searching the Falcone family's most protected warehouse, Jason Todd finds a single photograph that changes everything he has ever known about the Wayne name. He calls in back-up immediately.
Relationships: Andrea Beaumont/Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon & Jason Todd, Helena Bertinelli & Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Helena Wayne, Martha Wayne/Thomas Wayne, Thomas Wayne & Carmine Falcone
Series: Earth 132 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956985
Comments: 16
Kudos: 103





	1. The Photograph

No one was sure what happened, but in the span of two nights, the Falcone and Maroni family had gone underground. It left their lackeys scrambling in the streets, and the police had used the past four days to get a hold of their businesses before some other Crime Boss moved in, like Black Mask. And if Jason, who had connections to the Bats, made his own move onto the Falcone and Maroni territory and handed it to the police on a silver platter?

Well. They didn’t need to know that Jason held onto some of the territory for himself.

The Red Hood entered a warehouse that once belonged to the Falcone family before he claimed it as his own. Carmine Falcone, himself, had used this warehouse for personal storage, and it was once the most protected warehouse in Gotham. Which meant it had to be valuable.

“What were you hiding, you dirty rat?” Jason muttered, more to himself than to Falcone.

The rumors about Carmine Falcone varied. Some claimed he was a stand-up guy. Others claimed he was an abusive jerk who hurt his granddaughter on the regular. There were even some that said Carmine Falcone had a heart. Once. Having met Katrina Falcone, Jason was led to believe the second of the three.

As he expected, the warehouse was empty. To the blind eye. Given how quickly Falcone and his family vanished, he doubted the man had gotten ahold of everything. And with some searching, Jason found he was proven right. There was a “false roof” that led way to an attic type area. A very nicely decorated attic area.

Jason wasn’t sure if he was relieved or upset to find the place unoccupied.

Falcone clearly had enough time to move a few things, but not everything. This safe house, for whatever reason, had been left untouched until a few nights ago. There were a few footprints in the dust, signs of things being taken or moved. All rushed and hasty.

Jason was glad he was wearing a mask.

“Perhaps desperate,” Jason muttered to himself. “BG might get more from this.”

He was reaching for his comm to let her know about this safe house when something caught his eye. There were shards of glass on the ground under a desk by the far back wall. What looked like an expensive picture frame accompanied it.

“Hello. What did you lose, Falcone?”

Jason carefully plucked the frame out from under the desk and away from the glass. The photo inside was still intact, with smiling faces beaming back at Jason. It must have been years ago, from before even Bruce was born.

The picture made Jason’s blood run cold.

“Hood to Batgirl.”

_“I’m here, Hood. Line is secure. What’s up?”_

“I need you to track my location and get here ASAP. Don’t involve the other Bats.”

Barbara Gordon was quiet for a moment. _“What about my Birds?”_

“Then only those you trust. Hood out.”

Jason hung up, letting his gaze go back to the picture at hand. Those smiling faces. So young and naïve. It felt like a joke seeing this picture. All that talk and yet here in Jason’s hands…

Did he even know?

\-------------------------------

Batgirl came with a few friends. Huntress, Orphan, and Spoiler. While Huntress and Orphan took stock of what remained in the hidden safehouse, Batgirl was staring at the photograph Jason had found.

“I thought I said no Bats.”

“You also said I could bring Birds I trusted. These were the Birds in town that I trusted enough to bring with. I was expecting a fight.”

“Besides, do you really think anyone would honestly tell Batman about this?” Spoiler snarked.

Jason rolled his eyes, gaze shifting back to Batgirl. “You understand why I said no Bats, right?”

Barbara nodded at Jason, still staring in disbelief at the photograph.

“What is it?” Spoiler asked curiously.

“Thomas Wayne.”

“What?” Spoiler jerked to look at Batgirl.

In the photo was the same safehouse room that the group had previously been in. There were a few men that neither Barbara nor Jason recognized, but the two that they did recognized were two people they never expected to be in a room together.

Carmine Falcone had an arm thrown around Thomas Wayne, both clearly teenagers waving bottles of expensive wine in the air. Nine men in total stood in the picture, and Thomas Wayne should not have been among them.

If Bruce saw this…

“We need to get to Clocktower,” Batgirl declared, pocketing the photograph. “Orphan. Huntress. Meet us when you’re done here, and I expect a full report. Spoiler, search the rest of the warehouse, making sure there aren’t any more hidden rooms. Hood, come with me. We’ve got research to do.”

With the three Birds scattered about looking for clues, the two began their way back to Clocktower to begin their search into the photo. So it was just Jason and Babs when Batman came across their comms.

_“Batgirl. Hood.”_

Jason launched his grapple, Batgirl doing the same. “Just wrapping up a warehouse, Batman. Asked Batgirl for an extra set of hands.”

_“Hnn.”_

“Falcone visited before he vanished,” Batgirl supplied, getting a glare from Jason. “We’re not sure what he took, but it was relatively empty, and he left in a rush. Hood found a secret safe house, but it’s been cleared. Canary, Blackhawk, and Huntress are searching for any clues we missed. Hood’s coming with me to give an explanation as to why he _hadn’t_ turned this safe house over to the GCPD.”

Jason wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or relieved that Batgirl just saved his hide. On the one hand, they could keep the picture between them. On the other, Batgirl just threw him under the bus.

“Feed me to the sharks, why don’t ya,” Jason huffed. “I’ll give the rest of the warehouses currently in my custody to BG, okay, Bats? Satisfied?”

_“Fine. Batman out.”_

Barbara just grinned as Jason continued to glare all the way to Clocktower. Now he would _have to_ give Barbara all the locations he had “failed” to give over to the GCPD. There were only, like, nine of them, but that was still nine too many.

“Let me just do a scan, here,” Barbara muttered to herself as Jason made himself comfortable on the couch. “Make sure Bruce doesn’t hack into anything and see this, ah, Jason, take that tablet on the coffee table and put in those locations, please. And give a report. I’ll edit it later.”

Jason grumbled under his breath as Barbara got to work matching the faces to the facial recognition data.

“Thomas Wayne,” Barbara frowned, muttering aloud again. “Carmine Falcone. Mickey Sullivan. Huh, haven’t heard that name since Holiday murdered the entire Sullivan Crime Family.”

“Which means we won’t be getting answers from him,” Jason pointed out, still grumpily clacking away at the tablet. “And I have a bad feeling we’re going to hit similar roadblocks.”

Babs hummed. “Luca Falcone, former cousin of Carmine Falcone. Was murdered by the Red Hood gang back in the day. Probably a couple years after this picture was taken. And this man in the corner is definitely Milos Grapa. Murdered at the hands of Holiday. Along with Johnny Viti, but he’s not in this picture.”

Jason listened with rapt interest. He knew the Holiday murder had been massive, but this was a scale that even Jason wasn’t sure how to process. It was like Genocide. Could Holiday have come back?

“That’s…Gillian B. Loeb. The Commissioner my father replaced. Corrupt as they come, really.”

Yeah…very few people had very good things to say about Gillian B. Loeb. That man had been the cause of a lot of suffering in Crime Alley, even after his death. Carmine Falcone had sunk his claws far too deep.

“Former Mayor Sebastian Hardy. Not surprised.”

“That’s great, Babs. But that leads us with several dead ends,” Jason huffed. “So unless the last two people on your list are alive, I suggest we burn the picture and erase the evidence. Bruce doesn’t deserve to run himself ragged over this.”

“While I agree, I’m not leaving you to solve this case yourself.”

Stupid Barbara Gordon and her stupid ability to read Bats like picture books.

“Interesting,” Babs muttered. “These last two faces aren’t registering.”

That peeked Jason’s interest. Setting the tablet aside, Jason made his way to the computer, focusing on the last two photos. The one man was unfamiliar, though Jason felt like something about him was familiar. As for the last man…

“You ever read Bruce’s report on the Phantasm?”

Barbara cocked a brow at Jason.

“Carl Beaumont,” Jason tapped the screen. “Tim and I found it by accident looking into a series of murders. We locked it back, but this guy…he was the father of Bruce Wayne’s betrothed, Andrea Beaumont. The assassin known as Phantasm. She took out several major crime lords and mob bosses in a matter of three days, and she nearly killed the Joker. She currently has ties to Task Force X, though nothing anyone can prove.”

“Which gives us a start,” Babs grinned at Jason. “And lucky for us, I have some history with Task Force X. I might just get Amanda Waller to put in a good word for me.”

“Good. But before that…can we talk about how Bruce was literally going to get married before he became Batman?”

“Wait, he was going to get married before Batman?”

“Yes. Wait, you gotta read that case file, Barbie. It’s great. He was willing to give up all his training for this woman.”

“Seriously? Why did I not know about this?”

“He had so many encryptions on it, Tim and I thought we were going to come across a case where Bruce had actually committed murder.”

“I need to see this case file.”

\--------------------------

“There wasn’t much there to begin with,” Huntress was telling Batgirl, Red, and now Batman, the latter deeming it a good idea to make sure that Jason was doing exactly what he said he was doing. “Some old photo frames seemed to have been removed, maybe some old trinkets, but everything in there was old and clearly hadn’t been touched in a few years.”

“So why was this particular warehouse important,” Batman glanced to Jason.

Jason met the gaze. “Because being on the streets, you hear things. That little warehouse was considered the most heavily guarded piece of property that The Roman owned. Word in the Alley was that you only went in there to talk business. And if The Roman didn’t like that business, you didn’t come out. It was one of the first pieces of property I acquired when the Falcone’s and Maroni’s went missing. Figured if there was something important, it needed to be handled.”

“And the other eight locations?”

“Three were potential human trafficking rings, two turned out to be true, the other was an organ donner on the black market. One was child prostitution. One was rumored to be the “Time Out” room for Katrina Falcone, and as there was a chance that the little girl was there, I wasn’t going to risk the police bombarding her with questions. The last three were potential hiding places for the Falcone and Maroni family, and again, I wasn’t willing to risk the police bargaining in a finding Katrina Falcone being beaten to death.”

_“Hnn.”_

“Believe it or not, B, I know more about these crime families than you. Signal probably knows more than you, and he grew up in the Narrows, which is better than both Crime Alley and the Burnside District combined. I simply followed the rumors and whispers and attempted to save lives. I’ll admit this warehouse was more for my personal gain, but the others were meant to save people.”

_“I’m trying to save you, now.”_

“Fine.”

And that was it. Batman was gone. Just like that. Jason felt angry at the sudden departure, but at the same time, he felt relieved.

“So where do we start?”

The group turned to Huntress. She stared back, undisturbed as the four Bats just blinked in surprise.

Barbara recovered first. “We start by tracking down the Falcone family. Looking for any leads we can on where they disappeared to and why. Look for the Maroni family, too. Sal Maroni might juts have information on them. I’ll try to get in touch with the Phantasm, attempt to see if she knows anything. Spoiler, Orphan, I want you to go to Red Robin. See if he has any luck identifying our last mystery man. So, Huntress, Hood, that leaves you two to find our missing Crime Lords. Don’t make me regret this.”

The grin the two shared was enough to make Barbara regret this decision.

\--------------------------

“So, something manages to drag both the Falcone family and the Maroni family into hiding,” Huntress stated to the wind as she perched on the gargoyle next to Red Hood. “It leads Carmine Falcone to return to a safe house he clearly hasn’t entered in years, maybe decades, and now it’s related to several people it really shouldn’t be.”

“Looks like it,” Jason sighed. “As much as I would prefer this be done quickly, we should be thorough in our search. We don’t want to miss anything, and I wasn’t joking about the whole thing with Katrina Falcone. The Roman uses her as his own personal punching bag.”

“Then we have even more reason to find him,” Huntress grinned. “Helena. Helena Bertinelli.”

“Jason Todd. Lovely to meet you. I hear you have wicked aim with a crossbow.”

“I heard you’re not a bad shot yourself.”

The two launched in separate directions, searching the streets of Gotham for any sign or word of the Falcone family. Helena used her connections as a Bertinelli, and Jason used his influence as Hood. The rumors, however, ranged from logical to downright impossible.

“I heard they were murdered, and the bodies were hidden deep in Gotham’s sewers.”

“They decided to settle down for the quiet life.”

“Batman totally killed them.”

“A suicide pact.”

“They left the country. Had some family to visit. The Falcone’s took Sal Maroni with them, and now Big Lou Maroni is giving chase.”

“They probably faked their deaths to come back bigger than ever.”

“I bet Black Mask bought them out.”

“Red Hood totally killed them.”

Sometime during their search, Barbara Gordon got her message out to Amanda Waller and was forced to wait for an answer. While Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown were assisting Tim Drake in their research, she decided to check up on Jason’s theory from earlier.

“Batgirl.”

“Harvey Dent.”

“If you’re here to ask about the missing Falcone and Maroni family, I had nothing to do with it.”

“Perhaps not you. But Holiday might.”

Harvey glared at her, but Batgirl was unbothered.

“Alberto Falcone is dead.”

“Of course. But we both know he wasn’t the one who committed the murders, don’t we?”

“You can’t prove anything. Gilda isn’t even in Gotham.”

Batgirl paused. “I never said your wife was the one I suspected.”

Harvey glowered but said no more.

“I’ll look into your claim, Mister Dent. But if you know anything-”

“Nothing.”

She wasn’t going to push, but if it wasn’t Gilda Dent, then who drove the two families into hiding. Assuming both were still alive to begin with. If Gilda did kill, she was more likely to return to her MO, and there wasn’t a holiday coming anytime soon. Unless national Donut Day counted.

_“Red Robin to Batgirl.”_

Batgirl instantly began to fiddle with her com as she hopped on her motorcycle and sped away from Arkham.

“Line is secure, Red. What do you have for me?”

_“Assuming you are currently checking into Gilda Dent, already, then I hit the same roadblock you did with our mystery man, though I can confirm Carl Beaumont. Man had a bad habit of getting involved with the wrong families, and it really came back to bite him. But back to our mystery man, he looks…familiar.”_

“Hood said the same thing,” Batgirl agreed. “But I can’t place where. Unfortunately, this man appears to be hidden for a reason.”

_“Well, right now he’s our only direct link to this picture. But we do have an indirect link.”_

“Indirect?”

_“I already sent Steph, but if we’re lucky, Bette Kane might be able to get us some information. Elizabeth Kane loves Bette, plus we know Bette is trustworthy. If anyone knows anything about this situation, it would be Elizabeth Kane, and Bette Kane would be just the person to get that information for us.”_

This. This was why Barbara loved Tim Drake.

“You are amazing. Do I ever tell you that?”

_“All the time. If you need any help finding Gilda Dent, let me know. I’ll keep trying to place mystery man.”_

“You are an absolute angel, Red. Batgirl out.”

Now she just needed to make sure Gilda Dent really had nothing to do with this particular set of situations. That might just be a nightmare in and of itself.

\-------------------------

Jason and Helena met up at Clocktower, both turning up empty. Barbara confirmed that Gilda Dent had not been anywhere near Gotham, and had, in fact, been on vacation in Ireland with her new husband and two sons. Just to be safe, however, she sent Hank Hall and Dawn Granger to keep an eye on the woman. Cass and Tim showed up next, both still stumped by their mystery mad.

It was a night of dead ends. For most of them.

“You guys aren’t going to believe this,” Stephanie came barreling into Clocktower with Bette Kane on her heels. “This just got worse. So, so much worse.”

Considering that Thomas Wayne was supposedly in cahoots with Carmine Falcone, that was a terrifying statement. Bette, who had clearly been frazzled by this discover, took a seat on Barbara’s couch and sucked in a breath.

The words that came out of her mouth mad the whole situation so much worse.

“Aunt Martha knew the Falcone family-”


	2. The Rebellion of Martha Kane

_“Aunt Martha knew the Falcone family-”_

\-----------------------

“I don’t know about this,” Martha admitted sheepishly, looking down at the sleek black dress her best friend had coerced her into. “Don’t you think it’s a bit…showy?”

Carla Falcone just laughed. “Darling, you look ravishing. Any man will want a piece of you tonight?”

“Really? You think so?”

“I know so,” Carla assured. “Just a little bit more red on the lips and….done! Those boys won’t know what hit them. Now come on, darling. It’s good to be late, but you never want to be too late to a party. Remember that. You want to make a scene of yourself, not an annoyance when everyone has already worn themselves down.”

“Alright,” Martha gave Carla a nervous smile.

_“My fault really,” Grandmother Elizabeth explained to Bette. “The two girls met at a Gala when I had my back turned. I always raised my Martha to be a polite, punctual girl, but Carla Falcone ruined her. My poor dear. Still, she met her beloved Thomas at one of those parties. I suppose I should be grateful for that.”_

Martha was tipsy at best. She had never been fond of alcohol, especially with how often her family drank it. Carla understood and managed to sneak her a few ginger ales to pass as champagne. Carla really was the best friend a girl could ask for. But being tipsy, Martha found herself swaying to the music, dancing with whoever grabbed her attention at the time.

At the moment, Carla had pulled her away from a particularly sleezy man to introduce her to Carmine Falcone.

“My brother,” Carla huffed, giving her brother a smile that could be described as slightly sinister, but borderline teasing. “He’s kept himself occupied for the last few hours. Probably gambling again.”

Carmine Falcone gave a sharp grin to his sister, one Martha was familiar with in her own family. However, unlike her father shying away from her mother, Carla just rolled her eyes. It was one of the reasons Martha was so in awe of Carla.

“Boys,” Carla sighed to Martha. “Can’t live with them, but in today’s society, you apparently can’t live without them. You know, if I wasn’t so madly in love Felice, I would have remained single all my life. Mother could eat her foot.”

Martha grinned. She could only wish to have the courage Carla did.

“Carmie, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Martha Kane.”

“A pleasure,” Carmine kissed her hand. “May I introduce my friends. Luca is our cousin, and by far my best friend. Mickey Sullivan grew up with us, and is a dear family friend.”

Mickey tipped his hat while Luca repeated his cousin’s actions and kissed her hand.

“Gillian Loeb and Sebastian Hady are pals that love a good game,” Carmine waved to the two men. “And Carl Beaumont likes to participate once in a while, so we are graced with his presence tonight. And Milos has been my friend since we were toddlers. We get into all sorts of mischief.”

Before the other men could greet her properly, Carmine turned her attention to the last two men.

“Beware Rex, my dear. Not many people can handle The Lion. But allow me to introduce you to the best among us, Thomas Wayne.”

“Tom, please, Ms. Kane,” the man gave her a charming smile. “All my friends call me Tom.”

Martha stared in wonderment as Thomas Wayne kissed her knuckles. She had to wonder if this was what falling in love felt like. If it was, she hoped she never stopped.

“Martha. Call me Martha.”

If Martha spent the rest of the night dancing and laughing with Thomas Wayne, she certainly didn’t regret it. Not one bit. One dance turned to two. One night turned to every night. One kiss became more.

_“If Aunt Martha was so wild, why didn’t anyone say anything? And I can’t imagine Uncle Thomas gambling.”_

_“Oh, your uncle had a problem alright,” Grandma Elizabeth grumbled, slamming her teacup down on the table. Bette was glad it was empty. “That man. It’s a wonder he ever got his head screwed on straight, my dear. And in all honesty, as much as I hated Martha’s friendship with that Falcone girl, Thomas might have been a drunk and a gambler the rest of his life if it wasn’t for her. Could you imagine? The Wayne Family falling to madness! I thank my stars every day that Bruce did not turn out nearly as bad as his father, but I fear the day that boy slips!”_

“We need to talk?”

“Carla, my dear sister, now isn’t the time.”

“I don’t mean with you, Carmie. I need to speak with Thomas about Martha.”

The room went deathly quiet as all nine men looked up from their game to see Carla glaring daggers at Thomas. It was in that moment that Thomas knew true fear.

“Anything you can say to Tommy can be said to the rest of us, Carla, my dear,” Luca tried to make peace. “I think we would all be more comfortable with him in sight. Less likely for bloodshed.”

Carla whipped her glare to Luca, but the boy didn’t back down.

“Martha is pregnant.”

Thomas proceeded to fall out of his chair.

“What?”

“She’s known for weeks now,” Carla snarled, stalking close to Thomas, only to be stopped by Luca, Carmine, and Milos. “But she’s so afraid that you’ll leave her that she hasn’t been able to tell you.”

“Leave her-?” Thomas bulked. “I-I have to go to her-!”

Carla caught Thomas by the back of his shirt.

“You’ll sit and listen,” Carla snapped, practically throwing Thomas back into his chair. “As much as I am glad that my brother and cousin have made a friendship with you, Thomas, you are not part of our life. If I could give Johnny a regular life, I would do so in a heartbeat, so listen well, Thomas Wayne, because I will kill you if you hurt her.”

_“Most of the men who were in that room are dead now, of course,” Grandma Elizabeth finished, clearly calmed now. “But Thomas did not take his attempt to get sober well. He cut himself from the Falcone family and whatever riff-raff they got up too. That man buried himself in his work for so long, I feared poor Bruce would be subjected to horrible abuse at his hands, and I feared for Martha too. But he was getting better, before he died. To this day, I am not sure why Carmine Falcone stayed silent, though Carla Viti herself swore to secrecy to my face in honor of Martha’s memory. Mark my words, Bette, my dear, it is a blessing on both our family and the Wayne family that Carmine Falcone has fled.”_

_“Grandma, if I could…who were the man that were Thomas Wayne’s friends? You said most of them are dead, but, are there any still around? I…I know they’re dangerous, but if I could get to know my Aunt and Uncle…”_

_“Oh, my sweet darling. I fear they’ve mostly passed on. Commissioner Gillian, the fool, has long passed, and Mayor Hardy, as proud as he was, was murdered. Sullivan was murdered in the Holiday murders, and I wouldn’t dare send you to the Falcone family. I would have sent you to Carl Beaumont, but I heard that poor man was murdered. Imagine my surprise when Bruce started dating his daughter. I never said anything, of course, but they were a lovely couple, and she was too pure for this world. The only person I can think of is Rex Calabrese, but that man has been in Blackgate for years. Quite the feared Crime Lord, once. What was his title? The Tiger? No, no that isn’t right. Ah! The Lion!”_

\--------------------------

“Selina’s father?!” Tim bulked. “Oh! No wonder the facial recognition didn’t work! He’s got this scar on his face that warped his features!”

Rex Calabrese was a name none of them really expected to hear again. The man was a genius who had run most of Gotham’s underground before he was betrayed and imprisoned. He was the father of Selina Kyle, and he had once tried to sway her into taking over Gotham. But the man had also helped Jim Gordon save lives.

It was a place to start. Especially since Rex happened to reside in Blackgate.

It was just a matter of who would be the one to interrogate the man. They needed answers, and they needed them yesterday.

\----------------------------

Huntress, Orphan, and Spoiler entered the interrogation room, watching the man carefully. Huntress wasted no time in taking the chair as the other two stood guard.

“What brings a Bat to my poor little abode?”

“Thomas Wayne.”

Rex’s grin nearly faltered. The man sat back and huffed a laugh. Forced, really. It was unnerving.

“That man? Not what I expected, but I see how this is. What, you think Bruce Wayne wants vengeance?”

“No. Bruce Wayne doesn’t know, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

Rex hummed, clearly amused. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help. While Carmine Falcone and Thomas Wayne were close, I’m afraid I didn’t have the same attraction to the lad. Good gambler, I’ll give you that. But I couldn’t tell you if good old Thomas was involved with the Falcone’s business. I do know how they met.”

“Care to enlighten us?”

“It started with the Bertinelli’s calling a hit on Carmine Falcone. The kid was already becoming a major player, even with his father still alive. That was dangerous. And that was where the Bertinelli’s made their first mistake-”

\----------------------------

Fresh out of his third year of med school, Thomas had been walking home Roger Elliot after a day out. It was by chance, or luck, that Thomas and Roger were walking by when a car swung a sharp corner and gunshots fired into a crowd of people.

“CARMINE!”

Though several people had been hit, it was clear that the shots were meant for the poor guy that had dropped down onto the pavement, blood pooling from his body. Thomas didn’t even think.

“Roger, get my first aid kit!”

Thomas moved to the stranger’s side while Roger made a mad dash for the car.

“GET BACK!”

“Wait! I’m a doctor! A doctor in training, but I can treat his injuries! Let me help!”

That was the day Thomas Wayne met Carmine Falcone, Luca Falcone, and Milos Grapa. It was a miracle Carmine survived, but a life debt was owed, and Carmine drew Thomas into his inner circle.

\------------------------

“-Naturally I took an interest in Carmine Falcone, and unlike the Bertinelli’s, I realized that The Roman would become a treasure ally, so I befriended him. Not that Carmine didn’t suspect me from the moment I introduced myself, but what does that matter. Carmine wasn’t the reason I ended up here. But let me tell you, Carla Falcone put the fear of God in that man, and Thomas cut all ties with us the moment it happened. None of us blamed him, least of all Carmine. Those two…Thomas was by far the closest thing to a brother outside Milos and Luca that Carmine had. They loved each other. Make no mistake.”

“And Roger Elliot?”

“Him? No, that debt didn’t pass over to Elliot. Might have been some jealousy, but nothing more. Thomas and Elliot remained friends the entire time, even if Thomas spent more time with Carmine than him.”

Huntress nodded, taking all this in. She knew Thomas Wayne wasn’t all that close to Roger Elliot, even if Bruce had befriended Thomas Elliot.

“Why the sudden interest?” Rex questioned.

Huntress pulled out the photograph. “We think that this friendship may be the reason the Falcone and Maroni family are missing. We’re looking at every lead we can.”

Rex studied the picture. “Ah, this was the day he met Martha. Loved that woman. Made honest men out of all of us. Well, as honest as we can be.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“One last thing,” Rex called out. “If Carmine found it necessary to hide, something big has come up. Falcone has lost a lot in this life, and losing Thomas Wayne was what set the ball rolling for the path Carmine took. So, if Carmine believed hiding was the best option, then someone Carmine cares about, someone he _truly_ cares about, has been threatened.”

Huntress paused. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

This case just kept getting more and more complex.

\---------------------

“Andrea Beaumont.”

“Helena Bertinelli, lovely to meet you, Ms. Beaumont.”

The woman smiled. “Call me Andy, please. I understand you have questions.”

“Yes, but we’re not sure how much you’ll be able to answer,” Barbara responded from behind the woman

When Helena had gotten back, Cass and Steph had gone to help Bruce on patrol. Leaving Helena to find Jason, Barbara, Tim, and Bette having tea with the Phantasm. Andrea Beaumont was in the process of complementing Jason on making the tea taste like Alfred’s.

Now Barbara had to kill the mood.

“We realize it’s a long shot, but, do you know anything about this photo.”

Andrea studied the picture. “I know of it, but not about it. Though I did identify every man in the picture.”

“Same here,” Helena nodded. “We’ve been trying to piece together the story.”

Andrea nodded. “Gambling buddies. I’m afraid my father wasn’t as involved with the Falcone family as he was with…other business partners. Falcone and my father got along, but he apparently took advice from someone and dropped out of his past when he and mom had me. Didn’t stop him from getting involved with other criminals, but by that point, he felt he couldn’t turn to the Falcones. From what I remember, The Roman didn’t like my father’s involvement, and even went as far as to warn him about getting involved. It cost him his life, in the end, but I spared Carmine Falcone because they were friends, once.”

“Assuming you still track Gotham’s underground, any idea where the Falcone family would hide?” Jason questioned. “Everything we’ve found has been a dead end.”

“No. Though from what I gathered, The Roman only vanishes like this when someone he loves is truly threatened.”

“The Lion said the same,” Helena nodded her head towards her partners, “but he wasn’t close enough to Falcone to know where they would hide.”

They were back to square one.

Of course, that was when everything had to go so stupidly wrong.

“What is going on here?”

Batman stood in the window, Robin and Nightwing barely visible behind him. Which was not great. At all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There aren't enough stories with Andrea Beaumont, and she deserves so much love.


	3. The Truth

“I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!”

The Clocktower got quiet for the first time in forty-five minutes since the admission that fell past Jason’s lips. The fight that broke out had been words of hate and anger. Disbelief and fear. Things said that weren’t really true.

Jason punched the wall and swore. “Bruce, you have no problem admitting to everything you stand for, and I grew up hearing about how Batman was going to take down the greatest Crime Lords in Gotham. Sure, Falcone and Maroni have put up a fight, but you’ve lessened their efforts. And this, this picture, this is proof that those morals and the _reason_ for those morals was for nothing! I wanted to find the truth and spare you the ache of knowing your father was practically a criminal, himself.”

Bruce stood stunned, studying his estranged son. He hadn’t seen Jason like this since his Robin days. This…this desire to make Bruce understand that sometimes he needed help. That even Batman needed to be protected.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was trying to save you that pain.”

_“I only wanted to help you, Batman! You might have died!”_

Bruce swallowed, pulling back his cowl. “Then tell me what you found.”

Jason sagged, pressing his forehead to Bruce’s shoulder. After all this time, after all the fights, Jason still leaned into him for comfort and warmth. Bruce hesitated for only a second before wrapping his arms around his son and looking towards the rest of the occupants in the room.

“Were you all part of this?”

They nodded, even Stephanie and Cass. Andy, still as beautiful as ever, gave him a smile. A soft, kind smile that still made his heart melt. It wasn’t fair that she could still do this to him, and it urked him that he naturally returned that smile. Especially in front of his kids. She was the only woman who could make him this soft.

“Let them explain, Bruce. I think they’ll surprise you.”

Bruce Wayne still loved Andrea Beaumont, and nothing would ever change that. With her words alone, he let himself calm down as he pulled Jason tighter and let the gathered group of teens explain their findings to him.

\-----------------------------------

“I hate you.”

“You said that already.”

“And I’ll say it again. I hate you.”

Because of course Batman knew _exactly_ where the Falcone and Maroni family were hiding. He had been keeping tabs on them because he was Batman. Because Sal Maroni had destroyed Harvey Dent. Because Carmine Falcone seemed to avoid death and the law like a skilled acrobat (Dick did not appreciate this simile). He hadn’t figured out _why_ the two families had dropped everything to go into hiding. But he knew _where._

So Jason was allowed to be grumpy at his father figure. All this effort and they would have had to go to Batman to begin with because it was Batman who was keeping the two families hidden.

“I believe this belongs to you,” Batman held out the picture, and Carmine Falcone stared wide-eyed as the picture was returned to him. “My associates found it. It seemed important.”

“This was the happiest day of our lives,” Falcone whispered, brushing his thumb over the picture. “Tommy finally convinced me to propose to Louisa, and he met Martha this day. Must have been a surprise to see Thomas Wayne with a Crime Lord like me.”

“You could say that,” Jason snarked.

Carmine Falcone ignored him. “I owed him my life, you see, but when I tried to repay him, he refused. But in my line of work, when you owe a life debt, that is forever. So I kept pressing and somehow, we struck a friendship. I’ll admit I got Tommy into gambling, but he was practically my brother. And when dear Carla told us Martha was pregnant, well, we had to do something about that. I didn’t want Tommy to become a drunk gambler, so I begged him to go to his wife and child, to leave the life we had shared so that his son could grow up with a good father.”

Carmine Falcone was definitely crying now, and Jason could see how Bruce had gone rigid.

“I blame myself every day for their death. If I hadn’t pushed Tommy away, maybe he and Martha could have survived. The best I can do for my brother was to make sure his son remained safe. I owed Tommy that much.”

Bruce stayed there for a moment before turning away. Jason knew they weren’t going to get answers today. The admission had emotionally compromised Bruce in a way that was so very rare. Looked like he was going to be driving the Batmobile after all.

“Guess there wasn’t any reason to worry,” Jason voiced after the silence stretched a bit too long.

“I’m glad you did.”

Jason cast a glance to Bruce. His mentor had once more removed the cowl and was staring out the window. There were tears that were falling from the man’s face, though silently.

“Your dad sounded like a great man,” Jason offered, looking back to the road. “I’d have been proud to call him my grandfather.”

Bruce let out a sound that might have been a sob.

“He would have been proud to call you his grandson. He would have been proud of all of you.”

Jason paused for a moment, casting one more glance at Bruce before he said what needed to be said yet.

“For the record, I think he’d be proud of you too.”

\----------------------------------

“Not-sister.”

“Not-brother.”

The two stared off with each other before Damian launched himself into the arms of Helena. She laughed, curling around him as their bodies collided.

“I thought you had returned to your own world?” Damian asked, glancing up at her.

“And I thought you had died,” Helena huffed, but she was smiling, once more removing his mask with an expert flick of her wrist. Just as she had when they first met. “You look more like your father, now.”

Damian scoffed but she could tell he was pleased by the compliment.

“What brought you back?”

Helena gave a weak shrug. “I’m not actually sure this time. I just…woke up as Helena Bertinelli. You’re the first person other than Karen to recognize me.”

Damian’s brow furrowed. “Father will probably remember. Should we tell him?”

Helena shook her head. “Not yet. I’m enjoying myself right now.”

“So it was you. You caused the Falcone and Maroni family to go into hiding.”

Helena gave a wicked grin as Damian finally pulled out of her arms, though the two laced hands. Damian hadn’t been kidding when he told Power Girl that they felt the pull of blood. It was an odd connection that dragged them together. Drew them to the other unintentionally.

“In my world, Thomas Wayne was still alive, and had become Batman after the death of my father. We…didn’t get along for a long time. When I came back here, it wasn’t hard to realize that Thomas Wayne here had a similar connection to Carmine Falcone, though by far a better one.”

“So why?”

“Because your father needed to know the truth. You _all_ needed to know the truth. Neither Martha nor Thomas Wayne were perfect. They had their faults, but they tried. And that was what was important. Too much has torn your family apart, Damian. It was time for something to bring it together. You are far _stronger_ together than apart.”

“You fear something is coming.”

“I know something is coming, not-brother. You will need to have each other’s backs for this. Whatever it is, my arrival here was not without reason, I’m sure.”

It was quiet for a minute.

“Kyle is pregnant. I may have recommended the name Helena for the baby when she consulted me about how I felt.”

“What if it’s a boy?”

“I believe father and Kyle had already agreed on the name Thomas.”

Helena smiled. Good. The baby deserved a good name and a good life. Helena was also slightly smug that Damian offered her name for his new baby sister. If it was, in fact, a girl that was to be born.

As it stood, however, she and Damian needed to catch up. He had been dead the last time she saw him, after all.

\-------------------------

“Did you know what to expect when you answered Barbara’s request?”

Andrea shot Bruce a _look._ “You’re not the only one who likes to keep an eye on things, Bruce. Especially when they’re related to your family.”

“Touché.”

“I heard you got married.”

“No. That…didn’t work out.”

“I know.”

Bruce was smiling again, watching Andrea as she sipped her tea. In the moment, she was the picture of poise and grace. But he knew her better than that, of course. Just as she knew him. Bruce had let her into his heart and life in a way that only Selina Kyle had grown close to touching.

“I lied when I told the others I didn’t know much about your father’s relationship with Carmine Falcone,” Andrea set her cup down, locking eyes with Bruce. “But you had the right to hear it from me first.”

Bruce set his own cup down, ready to hear whatever needed to be said.

_“Thomas Wayne was the best man I ever met,”_ Andrea quoted. _“He had this way of bringing the best in people, even those like the Falcone family. I could only wish to be like him. You’re a lucky girl, Andy, to have captured the heart of his son.”_

Andrea paused, giving a soft, warm smile. “At least, that was what my dad always said.”

\----------------------------

“You’ll sit and listen,” Carla snapped, practically throwing Thomas back into his chair. “As much as I am glad that my brother and cousin have made a friendship with you, Thomas, you are not part of our life. If I could give Johnny a regular life, I would do so in a heartbeat, so listen well, Thomas Wayne, because I will kill you if you hurt her.”

“Carla-,” Luca tried to soothe once more.

“No,” Carla pointed a finger in Luca’s face. “Don’t interrupt. This needs to be said.”

Carla took a breath, locking eyes with her brother. To Thomas, Carmine Falcone looked heartbroken, but he seemed to nod his consent to whatever Carla was about to say. Carmine’s own daughter, Sofia, his youngest, had just been born weeks prior. He and Carla had talked about it away from prying eyes, a brother sobbing in the arms of his sister.

“Carmine is going to become the head of the Falcone family in a few weeks,” Carla began, looking Thomas directly in the eye. “We’ve managed to keep you, all of you, out of the press, but once Carmine takes over, things will slip. Our enemies will use us against you. Martha knew this, knows this. And if you continue to stay by our side, both you and Martha would end up dead.”

“But-”

“She’s right, Tommy,” Carmine placed a hand on Thomas’ shoulder, not meeting his brother’s eyes. “Carla and I talked about it. We don’t want that fate for either of you. We can’t save our family from this fate, but we can save you. Please, fratello, let me save you. And I will let you save the world.”

Thomas swallowed, eyes misty, and then he pulled Carmine into a hug. It was by far the worst goodbye Thomas ever had to endure.

\-----------------------------

“They were brothers, Bruce. Carmine, Luca, Milos, and Thomas. Carmine blamed himself every day for the death of your parents, and despite what you may think, what the world thinks, he wanted to solve the murder himself. He wanted to _take care of_ the man who murdered your father himself. It was Carla who told him that neither Thomas nor Martha would want that.”

Bruce’s eyes were shut, concentrated. There were things that made sense now. His father’s anger, his mother’s favorite pearls that weren’t a family heirloom, and even Thomas’ unwillingness to move against the mob, or more specifically, the Falcone Family.

Had Carmine Falcone saved his life?

“We should figure out who is threatening them,” Bruce declared. “And then keep them safe.”

“You and your bleeding heart,” Andrea sighed, though it was fond. “Perhaps I’ll stick around. I’d like to meet Selina. I think we’d get along.”

“I’d really prefer if you didn’t.”

“Hmm. I think I’ll stay. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve been home. I should go see my mother. Care to join?”

“Of course. Shall we pick up some flowers?”

“Red roses,” Andrea hummed. “They were-”

“Your mother’s favorite. Yes, I remember. They were my mother’s favorite too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet some of you thought Thomas was going to be alive like in the Earth 2 story arc. Well surprise!!!!
> 
> Comments are appreciated, and I hope you guys will stick around and enjoy this series as it goes along. I've written up to seven of the books so far, and would love to share them with you all.


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